


What Should Not Have Been

by Meynara



Series: Drabbles and ficlets from Tumblr [7]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Amputation, Angst, F/M, Surgery, all of the angst, no happiness here folks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 16:26:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12324642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meynara/pseuds/Meynara
Summary: Typically, if one of them was hurt, it was Minato. Medics weren't often the ones in need of assistance.





	What Should Not Have Been

**Author's Note:**

> Let me go ahead and say this now. Rin is an adult. ADULT. Over eighteen. Legal, consenting, not coerced, anything like that.
> 
> Okay, on with the angst!

No one had ever said being the Hokage would be simple. He had been warned from the start that he would lose his friends, his family in a painful manner. But never in his wildest nightmares had he imagined this.

They had been on a diplomatic mission to Suna. Everything was supposed to be safe, the Kazekage had assured that his people would be on their best behavior, they needed this alliance more than ever before.

Somehow, the meeting had leaked to Iwa, who hadn’t exactly wanted this meeting to go well.  ~~Not that Minato would know this until much later, until after the damage was done~~. They had managed to get explosive tags within the room, taking out a good portion of the part of the building they were in and trapping the pair beneath rubble, the only thing keeping them from being crushed being a longer, unbroken slab over them.

“Minato….listen to me.” Before him lay a broken and battered brunette, her breathing shallow as she steadily bled. “I’ll walk you through–” Cough. “–what needs to be done. Don’t panic on me.”

Later, he would reflect on the fact that she had felt the need to calm him. But right then, all he could do was kneel and nod, pushing his emotions aside, ready to take orders from his fiancée as he could hear the Suna nin and his own ANBU trying to get to them – to him.

“You need to – to find the bleeding and stop it, first.” It was growing increasingly harder to breathe, but Rin’s face was almost serene as she gave direction to the Hokage, as if she couldn’t feel anything.

Perhaps she couldn’t.

“Your – your arm,” Minato cleared his throat – he couldn’t panic, not now – removing her headband, taking the metal off before using the cloth as a makeshift tourniquet. Her arm was open on one side, leaving muscle visible just below her elbow. He was no expert, and he had to assume the worst.

Better a lost arm than a lost  _life_.

“Scalpel, in pouch. Need to relieve pressure.”

“Pressure? Where?” While they had both been hit by debris, there was nothing pressing down on the woman currently, leaving the blond confused as he searched for the scalpel.

“Chest.”

At that, he froze, her breathing growing more labored. Was she…really asking him to slice into her  _chest_?

“ _Minato_ …! Pressure, now!” She wanted to try to calm him, to explain better what was going on, but even though she currently felt no pain, she did feel the pressure, pressing down more and more on her chest, and their time was running out.

“Where do I need to do it?” His face hardened, fingers moving to remove her shirt partially, brushing against the skin as he tried to feel around, see if he could find what she was talking about.

“Right side. Between the ribs, under the breast.” Her voice was growing softer, more raspy, her face quickly paling and causing the marks on her cheeks to stand out even more in contrast.

“Right. Here?” She gave a vague sound of approval, Minato taking a breath before pressing the scalpel in – a soft exclamation coming from the medic as blood began to pour out. Her breathing steadied, but…

“Think…that’s enough.  _Pressure_.” Quickly, he complied, bunching up part of her shirt to press against the incision he had made.

“What next?” Azure orbs filled with worry looked down at the woman, her breathing growing more shallow beneath his touch.

“That’s –  _all_.” She winced before looking up, her own chocolate irises looking up to him filled with love – and a sort of finality. “Wait for help. They’ll be here…soon…love…”

Her eyes slid shut, leaving Minato alone, the sounds of men and women trying to get to them the only company he had for fifteen minutes.

Ten minutes too late to catch Rin’s final breath.


End file.
